Railway draft-rigging.



- .1. A. PI*LCHEH. RAnw/w DRAFT meme; I APPLIpATION FILED AUG-l2. I916.

Patented Apr. 23,1918

L m m i Q TTORNEY JOHN A. PILGHER, 0F ROANOKE, VIRGINIA.

MTLWAY innarr-nreerns.

Specification of Letters Patent. l s tentedl Apr. 23,, Tgllfi.

Application filed August 12, 1916. Serial No.114 500.

' To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN A. PILOHER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Roanoke, in the county of Roanoke and State of Virginia, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Railway Draft-Riggings, of which the following is a full, clear, concise, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification. a v

This invention relates to improvements in railway draft riggings.

The object of the invention is. to provide an improved and simplified type of draw bar and yoke connection wherein may be employed a standard draw. bar and the parts so arranged that they may be readily assembled and disassembled.

In the drawing forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 is a horizontal, longitudina-l section of a draft rigging showing my improvements'embodied therein. Fig. 2 is a part longitudinal, vertical section, part side elevation of the structure illustrated in Fig. 1. And Fig. 3 is a transverse, vertical sectional view taken substantially on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2..

In said drawing, 10-1O denote channel center or draft sills to which are secured rear'stops 11 and front stops 12, the latter being suitably slotted as indicated at 13 in alinement with .a corresponding slot in the channels, to thereby accommodate the movements of the key 14 which connects the yoke, hereinafter described, and the draw bar 15. In the drawings are illustrated conventionally a type of friction gear 16, the latter being supported by any suitable meanssuch as the tie plate 17 which is held in place by bolts 18 and the well known clips 19.

The draw bar 15 is operatively con nected with the friction gear or other shock absorbing mechanisms by means of a yoke designated generally by the reference A. The yoke A, as shown, preferably comprises a 'U-shaped strap having upper arm 20 and lower arm 21, the samebeing connected at the rear by the portion 22. Attheir front ends, each of the arms 20 and 21 is provided with a T head 23 thus forming laterally eX- tended shoulders 24-24. To connect said arms of the yoke with the draw bar, I have provided two similar side plates 25- 25, each having an upper shoulder 26, lower shoulder 27, and a forward extension 28, the

latter being slotted. to thereby receive the coupler key 14. As will be apparent, the shoulders 26 and 27 engage and cooperate with the corresponding shoulders 24-2-1 of the T heads, whereby, upon forward or pulling movement of the draw bar, the said plates will be pulled forwardly and engaging the shoulders 24, will in turn pull the yoke forwardly. Each of the plates 25 is preferably flared outwardly as indicated at 29 to thereby accommodate the draw bar shank and also to permit radial movement of the draw bar. A bolt 30 is provided which extends through the T .heads of the yoke arms and through a suitable slot in the draw bar butt, preferably the front rivet hole usually formed in standard draw bars. This bolt has applied thereto a nut 31 which is retained by any suitable means such as the cotter 32. It is also apparent, from an inspection of Figs. 1 and 2 t the key 14 must be recessed to accommb-.ate the bolt and the latter will, therefore, prevent the key 14 from slipping sidewise with respect to the draw bar. The front stops 12 are extended inwardly as indicated at 33, to close proximity to the side plates 25 and are extended forwardly sufficiently to prevent the plates 25 from moving laterally an amount to permit disengagement of the plates from the T head of the yoke. From thelforegoing, it will be seen that the front stops will maintain the side plates in operative position upon both bufiing and pulling movements of the draw bar.

The arrangement provided is simple, the parts may be readily formed from wrought iron at relatively small expense, and I am enabled to provide a detachable draw bar and yoke connection with standard draw bars now in service. i

I claim:

1. In a draft rigging for railway cars, the combination with draft sills having front stops secured to the inner faces thereof, of a draw bar, and 2. upper and lower horizontally extending arms, the forward ends thereof having laterally extended shoulders, and side plates located on the opposite sides of the draw bar butt and normally held in operative position by said stops, ing upwardly and downwardly extending shoulders arranged toengage behind Said yoke, said yoke having said plates each hav laterally extendedshouldersfof the yoke arms and separable from the yoke arms bydetachable side plates shouldered at top and bottom to engagetheT heads, and a\coupler key extending through the draw bar and said side plates, the said front stops pre-.

venting lateral separation of said side plates and the key operatively connecting the draw bar and said plates.

3. In a draft rigging, the combination with front stops, of a draw bar, a yoke comprising a Ushaped strap having T shaped forward ends and two detachable side plates shouldered at top and bottom to engage the' T heads, and a coupler key extending through the draw bar and said side plates, the said front stops preventing lateral separation of said side plates, and a bolt extending through said T shaped ends and the draw bar to prevent spreading of the arms of said strap.

In witness that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto subscribed my name this 7th day of August, 1916. r

P JOHN A. PILCHER. Witness:

R. B. KoR'rE. 

